My weekend haul

As I mentioned on Monday, I thought I'd do my first ever dressing room photos and review post for the blog! This will be photo heavy, so let's not waste any time! Oh, but just so you understand my proportions - I'm 5'-2", I have a 30DD bra size (according to my NEW size determined here), 27" waist, and 36" hips. I'm generally high waisted, and my hips are definitely the widest part of my body

My first stop was Express. Everything in the store was buy 1 get 1 half off, which really just means I'm buying in pairs. I grabbed an armful of clothes and headed to the dressing room. First up, this minty top and High Rise Crocheted Lace Shorts.

Unfortunately, I'm not finding the top online. It was actually quite cute and true to size - a simple pullover style with a half zip at the back. I decided against the top because it felt like 1970's polyester, which I wasn't crazy about. The shorts were great - but I would never wear them with a top tucked in to show off the high waist - I don't think that look is at all flattering on my square shape, and there's just way too much fabric to only be able to wear it with a shirt over top of it. So far, I'm 0 for 2.

Next up is the Sleeveless Textured Front Zipper Dress. If you remember, my compadre and Manic Monday parter in crime, Gina, featured this in one of her Holiday Style series posts here. I've been wanting to try it myself, but I do so much of my shopping online, and I knew this was something I needed to try on in store. First, I was ridiculously confused how to get this on as I didn't notice the side zipper at first. I vary between a size 4 and a 6 depending on how fitted the piece is, so I grabbed this dress in each size. Above, you will see side by side photos of each size. The 4 zipped, but I couldn't breathe. And if you were to zoom in, you'd see the fabric screaming for dear life and also little muffin tops at my armpits. Yeah, not sexy. Gina was right to suggest sizing up. The 6 was perfect. I loved this a lot - the shape is great, and it has pockets. It's so hard for me to say no to a dress with pockets, so this was a yes! Here are a couple more photos - the texture is great.

I can't shop Express during a sale and not pick up some portofinos. I just honestly love this shirt so much, and the print and color selection is amazing. Here you'll see the Polka Dot in Mink  and the Leopard Print. Both are size small and paired with the Striped Stretch Knit Midi Pencil Skirt which you saw briefly in Monday's post.

I tried the skirt on in Small (left) and Medium (middle and right.) The skirt looks shorter in the photo of the small, but that's only because it was skin tight on my hips so I had to hike it up higher. The medium is still very much form fitting - it just allows me to breathe. And if I want, I could actually fold the waist a couple of times to shorten the length a little. I decided to say no to the polka dots, only because I already have it in white and wear it a ton. If you are deciding what portofino to get first, here are four reasons to chose the black and white dot version:

The white version is constantly in and out of stock online, so if you're on the fence, get off of it, and buy it while it's there! But back to this shopping trip! I ended up getting the striped skirt in medium and the leopard portofino. It's just the perfect leopard print and I know I will get so much use out of it. And, I'm excited for my first midi skirt. I still don't know if I could ever pull off a full midi skirt, but this pencil version is great.

The last two pieces I tried on were the Mars Red Portofino and Navy Weathered Seamed Shorts. These pieces were inspired by the Cardinals' team colors as I realized when I was packing for the trip that they would be perfect for spring training, but alas I didn't already own them! The top is in a small just like the other portofinos. I always like to size up on shorts with smaller inseams so they hang lower on my hips - a 4 would have fit, but the 6 hangs better and doesn't ride up.

With my own necklace here and sandals here

One thing that I love about the portofino is that it has a hint of a high-lo hem and the rear hem is long enough to cover my tush, making it perfect for leggings. So, if you're short like me, you will get even more use out of this top than you know!

OK, so that means I have two tops, one skirt, one dress, and one pair of shorts in my cart. 5 items. Dangit! I can't waste the last B1G1 half off discount, so I ended up with these Chevron and Chain Drop Earrings.

Next, I wandered into Kate Spade. I already told you guys this story on Tuesday, but can I just reiterate how excited I am for this bag? I posted this photo on Instagram right before I bought it. And for the record, Kate Spade New York "liked" it. Woohoo, I made it!

via Instagram

By this time, the husband was starting to make his way towards the mall - he had a meeting in the morning/afternoon, so I had taken a cab to the mall to pass time. I ended up in the Nordstrom shoe section, where else? Save the best for last, right?

Left: Isola | Right: Sam Edelman

It's funny how last week I was talking about not feeling like shopping for spring stuff, but the second I'm in Florida, I'm all about shopping for sandals. Haha! I picked out the pair on the left - black with rose gold insets. I hadn't actually heard of the brand before - Isola. You can see my exact sandals here. How fun are they?! I loved the metallic accents. They fit true to size and I can see myself wearing these over and over!

In typical Nordstrom fashion, the SA also brought me a second pair of sandals she thought I would like. When I opened the box, I immediately dismissed them. They were the Sam Edelman Gigi sandal. I told her that I normally hate the way my feet look in barely-there thong sandals like these, but that I would try them. I'm always willing to try something. Frankly, I don't think my feet are that pretty - I'd totally get plastic surgery on my feet if I could. But I was really surprised when I put them on that I really liked them! I tried on a half size larger than my normal size. The width fit great. The t-strap laid perfectly flat and secure against the top of my foot - often times these are really loose. The back strap didn't fall off my heel at all either. Completely comfortable. My dilemma was simply deciding on which color I wanted! I finally decided on an almond patent.

I'd say that was enough damage for one trip. And you'd be quite impressed because I didn't have to buy extra luggage or anything! I simply pulled all my toiletries out of my roller bag to make room for my new shoes (boxes and all!) I put the toiletries in my shoulder bag, and used my new Beau for any overflow storage. That left me with 3 bags, so unfortunately, I had to check my roller bag, but it was more of a time nuisance than anything since Southwest does free bag checks. Ah, I love happy endings, don't you?

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